HUMANE RELIGION

A Christian Ministry for Humans, Animals and the Environment

Humane Religion Magazinefrom Humane Religion March - April 1997 Issue

EDITORIAL

It is the Lenten season and as Easter draws near the stores are overstocked
with greeting cards that depict baby lambs frolicking in green meadows or
running through flower-filled fields with the little children who are as
innocent and carefree as the animals with whom they romp. And for the more
religiously inclined, there are the cards which depict the Christ, so often
portrayed as the Good Shepherd. He is shown tenderly carrying a lamb who looks
lovingly into the face of its protector. The messages inside these cards speak
of love and renewal—of new beginnings.

The fashion industry also uses these springtime images of resurrection and
new life to sell Easter outfits. Newspaper ads use drawings of wildflowers and
little lambs, implying a connection between these pastoral images of innocence
and youth and the people who will wear the clothes.

During this season it seems that the whole world rejoices in the exuberant
lamb, romping in the springtime world into which it has been born. Even
columnists for The New York Times are encouraged to evoke these pastoral scenes
although so many of their readers live in a world of concrete sidewalks and
hi-rise buildings.

In the Sunday Magazine section of the "Times," Molly O'Neill rhapsodizes
about these lambs. She writes how "animal and shepherd wander the grassy knoll
without destination or care, a romantic idyll of innocence and freedom." She
goes on to say that "even without religious implications, young lambs invite a
communion with nature." Then Molly tells us how to achieve this mystical
communion—eat the lamb.

Molly is a food editor, and the headline of her column explains her position:
"A Little Lamb Eats Ivy: And clover. And fennel. And Garlic. Which Explains Why
it Tastes So Good." She praises the lamb for eating these things because its
diet provides "built-in seasonings" for those who will devour it.

Molly writes lyrically about baby lambs. She informs her readers that "born
in the month just prior to their slaughter, they will have grazed on young
grasses like clover or on the salty marsh grasses of France and Ireland. The
delicate herbaceousness of the meat is like an edible postcard from the animal's
hometown."

In addition to her definition of lambs as "edible postcards" Molly, the food
columnist, reports her theological insights regarding the slaughter of these
innocents. She tells her readers that in "sacrificing an innocent we acknowledge
the basic human paradox, that in order to live we take life." (Note: she does
not even try to claim that we have to take life in order to exist.)

In her role as theologian/chef, Molly also explains that "those who baste the
lamb after letting its blood, for Easter or Ramadan, feel chastened and
protective. Reminded of their dark side, they look forward to the light."

These uplifting thoughts are followed by a recipe for "Baby Leg of Lamb." A
full-color picture accompanies the article. It is an artsy photograph of a
giant, raw lamb chop, haloed by the golden flames which will soon make it an
"edible Postcard."

But it is not only the semi-sophisticated readers of The New York Times who
accept this obscene juxtaposition of praise for the "innocence and freedom" of
the newborn lamb with a recipe that calls for "2 legs of baby lamb—4 lbs each."
Most people live with this schizophrenic contradiction.

An Easter catalog, Expressions of Faith: Christian Cards and Gifts* arrived
in the mail. It is definitely not for the sophisticate and there are no artsy
photos. Both the illustrations and the text are best described as "precious."
But the contradictory message it gives is the same as that which is found in
more urbane publications.

One of this catalog's offerings is an Easter card series called Warm &
Whimsical. The first card features a baby lamb, delighted by the spring flowers
that surround it. The inside message says "May the beauty of God's creation
brighten your Easter season."

This is a chilling sentiment when one realizes that for those who receive
these cards, the little lamb who expresses the "beauty of God's creation" will *
Currents, Colorado Springs, CO probably "brighten" the season by ending up,
dead, on their plates for Easter Sunday dinner.

The catalog also offers Easter placemats for sale. Baby animals form the
motif: cuddly bunnies, tiny chicks, and of course, a little lamb, are depicted.
A prayer—grace before meals—is also printed on the mat. "For flowers and lambs
and birds that sing, we thank you, Lord, for everything. Amen."

He will be regarded as a benefactor of his race who shall teach
man to confine himself to a more innocent diet. I have no doubt that
it is part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual
improvement, to leave off eating animals.

Henry David Thoreau

Do people who order these mats say this particular prayer of thanks just
before they cannibalize the animal on their dinner plate?

Why not? Those who honor Jesus Christ celebrate his escape from the grave by
condemning to death tens of thousands of gentle lambs. They will be brutally
slaughtered so their corpses can be eaten on Easter Sunday—in honor of The Good
Shepherd and with prayers of thanksgiving for His creatures, which they are
about to devour.

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